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Let Curb Appeal Help Sell Your Home

If your home's curb appeal makes a great first impression, everyone --
including potential homebuyers -- will want to see what's inside.

The first thing homebuyers will look at when they arrive at your home is
your front yard. The color of your home, the landscaping, walkways, and
if the home is attractive from the outside, will be all that is on
their minds. Regardless of the fact that you just put new appliances in
the kitchen, or you have gorgeous hardwood floors, if the curb appeal is
not attractive, many homeowners will never make it inside your home.
Ensure that your home is appealing from the curb, with these 10 ideas to
attract your future homebuyers.

1.) Color of your exterior home: Before you start
on the yard, start on your physical exterior of your home. Look at
neighboring homes, and drive through the neighborhood to get the general
aesthetic, and color palette of other homes. While your house doesn’t
have to be the same color, it should be within the same historic or
aesthetic color palette as neighboring homes. Consider repainting your
home, or pressure washing siding or brick.

2.) Accentuate the accents of your home:
Whether you have shutters that adorn the sides of your exterior
windows, or columns that greet potential homebuyers on the front porch,
ensure they are all immaculate in restoration, upkeep and they are in
good condition. Ensure that low planters, brick walls, fences, exterior
lighting, and garage entryways are free of debris and all damaged areas
have been repaired.

3.) Interior finishes don’t hinder the outside appeal: For
many homeowners the thought of standing outside their home and looking
back at the house isn’t considered. Interior finishes such as window
treatments; window hanging decorations, and window obstructions, such as
furniture in front of windows can be seen from the curb. Ensure
furniture, window treatments, and other interior elements cannot be seen
from the street, or they are in complimenting colors to the outside of
the home.

4.) Walkway and entry areas: The
next area homebuyers will look at are the entryways to get into your
home. Consider the driveway, sidewalk, stairs, and stepping stone
pathways around your home and clear these of weeds, debris, and pressure
wash concrete, brick, and pavers to give a clean appeal to your
stepping areas. If preventable, try not to park cars in the driveway,
especially if they leek oil and leave unsightly stains on the concrete.

5.) Bring in unsightly items: Curb
appeal is also associated with how your family lives on a day-to-day
basis while your home is up for sale. Ensure toys, garbage cans, yard
debris filled trash bags, and garden tools are picked up immediately
after using them. Items left out for days on end, gives your home an
unkept look, and forms opinions in homebuyers minds about the upkeep of
your home.

6.) Manicured grounds are ideal: Take
a look at your lawn area and determine the condition of the grass and
surrounding plant beds. While a newly cut and trimmed lawn is ideal, so
is healthy landscaping. If you have dead spots, weeds, and unsightly
poor areas of your lawn, consider hiring a lawn service or landscaping
professional to get your lawn looking ideal as possible.

7.) Year-round beauty is essential: Homebuyers
purchase homes year-round, which means your foliage and grounds
shouldn’t have an excuse to not look attractive. From colorful foliage
in the warmer months, to well manicured structure and form of trees and
evergreen plants in the colder months. Shake off the excuse that the
season has to dictate how well you keep up your curb appeal!

8.) Replace welcoming elements: Believe
it or not, elements such as the mailbox, house numbers and door
hardware can make a big impression on homebuyers. If you’ve lived in
your home for a while, consider buying new elements and replace the old
ones. These small elements can send a welcoming impression and are
relatively inexpensive to replace.

9.) Spruce up outdoor furniture: Whether
you have garden furniture on your front porch, or you have outdoor
lounging furniture on your back patio, spruce up their appearance with
fresh cushions, throw pillows, and newly painted or pressure washed
surfaces. Similarly, to the furniture inside your home, leisure areas
are always appealing to homebuyers.

10.) Add instant color: If you want
to bring instant color to your curb appeal, consider planters with
seasonal plants at your front door, positioned throughout your yard, and
at the sides of your garage entry. Potted plants will add instant color
to the overall appearance of your home, and will make homebuyers happy
to come see more inside.

Curb appeal of your
home doesn’t have to be difficult; in fact many homeowners feel sprucing
up the exterior is easier than the interior! Use these 10 tips to
welcome homebuyers and make them want to venture to the inside of your
home. Many a Realtor has mentioned that homebuyers make up their mind
about your home within15 seconds of seeing your home. Make them want to
spend countless minutes in your home with appealing curb appeal.

Some of the listing information contained herein has been provided by WCARMLS.

Data provided by Columbia Greene Northern Dutchess MLS Inc.

All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal.
Neither broker(s), agent(s) nor WhereToLive.com, Inc. shall be responsible for any typographical errors,
misinformation or misprints, and shall be held totally harmless.